A pair of oil panels by Dutch-born artist leads Irish Old Masters sale

The estimate for the coastal and harbour scenes by Van der Hagen is €25,000-€35,000 at James Adam in Dublin

A Harbour Scene and A Coastal Scene by William Van Der Hagen, both dated 1838, at James Adam.

Dutch-born artist William Van der Hagen, who settled in Ireland in 1722, is regarded as the founder of the Irish school of landscape painting. We know he visited earlier because his View of Drogheda, now at the Highlanes Gallery, dates to 1718. The work Corke Harbour dates to 1738 and is the earliest surviving oil painting of the harbour. Sold at Woodwards in 2004 for €360,000, it remains in a private collection.

A pair of oil panels by Van der Hagen will lead the Irish Old Masters sale at James Adam in Dublin this Thursday, May 14. The estimate for A Harbour Scene, Men-of-War Anchored in a Calm Sea with Fishermen Beside a Tower and A Coastal Scene with Ships in Heavy Seas off a Rocky Coast is €25,000-€35,000. A catalogue note points to the fact that these small works share both the European tradition and the nascent Irish landscape school, with whose genesis the artist is so closely linked.

A set of 13 canvas wall-hangings painted by Van der Hagen, designed to transform the walls at Dublin Castle into an Italian fantasy complete with garden follies, palaces and landscapes ahead of a grand ball, will soon be displayed at the State Apartments in Dublin Castle. They were acquired by the OPW after being rediscovered under layers of wallpaper during alterations at Knole, the ancestral home of the Dukes of Dorset in Kent.

'A Still life of Peaches, Plums and Figs' by Charles Lewis (1753-1795) at James Adam.

There are 61 lots at Adam's Irish Old Masters sale, which kicks off with a 25-strong set of James Malton's Picturesque and Descriptive Views of the City of Dublin (€5,000-€7,000). A set of 12 coloured engravings of the built glories of Georgian Dublin after Samuel Brocas is estimated at €3,000-€5,000.

'A Prospect of Kinsale' after Charles Smith (1715-1762) published c1750 at James Adam.

A set of three coloured lithographs of Cork rivers after Henry Morgan, printed and published in Exeter in 1849, estimated at €300-€500, would enhance any local collection, as would A Prospect of Kinsale taken from Ye Old Fort after Charles Smith (1715-762) published in Dublin c1750 (€500-€700). These are among several topographical works from around Ireland in the sale.

A painting of peaches, plums and figs in a silver bowl by Charles Lewis, dated 1788, is a rare survivor of still-life painting from Georgian Dublin. Born in Gloucester, Lewis moved to Dublin in 1776, and his art, though little known today, was much admired by his contemporaries and circulated widely in the 19th century.

Maria Spilsbury Taylor (1776-1820) was the most significant female artist to work in 19th-century Ireland. She is represented by an oil-on-canvas titled Family Group: A Mother with her Children Dancing and Playing the Tambourine. It carries an estimate of €3,000-€5,000.  The painting Market Day, Derravaragh, Co Westmeath, by Erskine Nicol, is signed and dated 1857 and estimated at €5,000-€7,000.

In an auction with landscapes, seascapes, genre scenes and topographical views, there is only one portrait, a charcoal, pastel and pencil drawing by Thomas Hickey (1741-1824). The subject is Sir Barry Close (1756-1813), the Armagh-born British East India Company army officer and diplomat who played a crucial role in expanding British power in India. 

An 1801 drawing of Sir Barry Close by Thomas Hickey (1741-1824).

A skilled linguist, he played a pivotal role in the Mysore campaigns against Tipu Sultan. A dress sword set with diamonds in 18-carat gold presented to Close made a hammer price of €280,000 at Adam's Townley Hall sale last October.

The auction is on view at James Adam today and tomorrow, from 1pm to 5pm, and from Monday to Thursday, from 10am
.